Rutland businesses who somehow did not qualify for earlier government support can seek funding from a new Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund.

Rutland County Council has received £575,000 from central government for the new fund for distribution among local businesses.

The council is urging businesses to go online and answer a series of qualifying questions to see whether they might be eligible for funding.

The Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund provides financial support for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Qualifying businesses will also need to demonstrate they have significant fixed property costs, have experienced a significant drop in income due to COVID-19 restriction measures and have not previously received any form of business grant from the Council. The maximum grant available will be £10,000.

The council will be following the Government guidance and prioritising the following types of businesses for grants:

1. Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples include units in premises which do not have their own business rates assessment;

1. Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment;

1. Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates

Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate

Other businesses which fall outside of these categories will be able to apply but should note that their applications will only be assessed if there is sufficient funding available.

Businesses can apply for funding by completing a pre-qualification form that will be available on the council's website for two weeks from Monday 8 June. Successful applicants can expect to receive their grants in early July.

Rutland County Council deputy leader and portfolio holder of finance, Coun Gordon Brown, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly tough for our small businesses, which are a vital part of the local economy and the wider community.

"We're pleased to now be in a position where we can offer financial support to those businesses that are really in need and have so far not received a business grant.

"The pot of money we have at our disposal is limited but we hope to help as many eligible businesses as possible. We will be launching a form on our website on 8th June but businesses can go online now and look at the qualifying criteria to see if they are eligible. If you're a small business in Rutland and have been hit by the pandemic, we urge you to do this."

It will be the responsibility of applicants to ensure that they provide all the information requested in sufficient detail otherwise their application cannot be processed.

For more information on funding for local businesses, please visit: www.rutland.gov.uk/covidbusiness.